SB 33: Medi-Cal Recovery
Co-sponsored by CANHR and Western Center on Law and Poverty, SB 33:
Limits recovery for those 55+ to what is required by federal law – e.g. nursing facility, home and community based services and related hospital and prescription drug services – eliminates optional recovery.
Eliminates recovery from the estate of a surviving spouse of a deceased Medi-Cal beneficiary.
Requires DHCS to provide claims detail information free of charge to Medi-Cal beneficiaries or their representatives via phone, internet, mail, in person or other means and to post information on their web site as to how a consumer or his/her representative can request claims detail information.
SB 33 is similar to last year’s SB 1124, which had unanimous bipartisan support, passing the Assembly Floor by 78-0 and the Senate Floor by 33-0. Although SB 1124 was vetoed by the Governor, the Governor did express the intent to revisit the wisdom of such recovery.
In his veto message, the Governor noted that “allowing more asset protection for the next generation may be a reasonable policy goal.” So there is hope that his administration can be persuaded that forcing low-income citizens to sell their family homes or pay back Medi-Cal claims at 7% interest destabilizes low-income communities and is simply poor public policy. Send letters of support to:
Senate Health Committee State Capitol Room 2191 Sacramento, CA 95814
Or via FAX: (916) 266-9438 and to the Senate Member in your district.
We’ll keep you up to date on the status, or see this link for the bill language and to follow the status of this important bill:
